And the Survey Says...
After staring at the door of room 317 for more than a few moments, Christen attempts to shake the shock from her body as she closes the door to her room. She makes her way over to her bed and takes a seat on the edge. All she can do is stare at the blank white wall on the opposite side of the room and let her thoughts consume her. So that’s why she was so confident we would see each other again. But then why didn’t I see her when everyone was moving in earlier? I feel like a girl like her would be pretty hard to miss. Actually I’m positive a girl like her would be hard to miss. Especially when she lives right across the hall! Wait, she lives across the hall? No, no, no. This is not good. This is the opposite of good! Now I’ll probably see her like every day and soon she’ll realize that she’s way out of my league and then it will be awkward and…ugh, whyyyyyy? Why do these things always happen to me? Christen flops back onto the rest of her bed and continues to sulk in her insecurities and worries of the future.
“Hey there, Christen!”
Christen’s eyes shoot open and dart towards the doorway where they land on her roommate. In all of her contemplation, she didn’t hear Kelley enter the room. Christen lets out a breath as she tries to return her heart rate to its normal pace.
“Hey Kelley” Christen returns as she sits upright on her bed again. “Did you get everything sorted out at the front desk?” Kelley smirks as she walks further into the room, near her pile of accumulated boxes, luggage, and totes.
“You can call me Alicia” she replies with a dignified tone. Christen arches an eyebrow. “Because I have ALL the keys now!” Kelley exclaims as she raises her standard, university-issued lanyard into the air. Christen shakes her head.
“That was so bad” she states with a chuckle.
“Yeah” Kelley admits, “But it made you laugh, didn’t it?” A small smile spreads across Christen’s face.
“I guess” Christen confesses, “I’m happy you got your key.”
“Trust me, you and me both” Kelley replies as she grabs one of her luggage bags and begins to unzip it. “Oh, and I ran into Becky on my way back, that’s why I took so long. Turns out she’s actually really nice! Which is a relief because most of the people I’ve talked to said RAs can be total sticks in the mud. She gave me the whole spiel and everything but it really wasn’t that bad.” Kelley muses while beginning to transfer articles of clothing from her bag to hangers in her closet. “Although, I have to say some of those rules seemed completely ridiculous. Like ‘no guests after 11pm’. What is that? Do they really think some small curfew will stop people from doing ‘The Do’?” A muffled laugh escapes abruptly from Christen. Really Kelley? ‘The Do’? Christen’s outburst makes Kelley pause from her unpacking and turn to look at Christen.
“Don’t let what I’m saying now mislead you, Pressy. Roommate rule number one: No bringing guys back to the room. The last thing I want is to walk in on my roommate getting it on.” At this Christen shifts in her seat on the bed.
“Oh, well – um – actually you won’t have to worry about me with any guys at all…” Christen softly admits as she nervously plays with her fingers. Kelley takes a moment to look Christen up and down before she speaks.
“Christen” Kelley finally begins, “Are you gay?” Christen looks up from her hands and meets Kelley’s questioning eyes.
“Ummm… yeah?” Christen unconfidently responds, afraid of how Kelley will react. Kelley maintains her stoic composure before she finally breaks out into an understanding smile.
“Welcome to the club then” Kelley says with a twinkle in her eye. Hold up, so that means…
“You’re gay too?” Christen blurts out, soliciting a small laugh from Kelley.
“Yeah, last time I checked anyway” Kelley confirms with a shrug. “Which brings me to roommate rule number two: We can’t hook up. Like ever. That would completely ruin this nice little repartee we’ve got going on here.” This time it’s Christen’s turn to laugh.
“Got it. I’ll try my absolute hardest not to fall in love with you, Kelley O’hara” Christen kids, clapping her hands together and then holding them over her heart for good measure.
“Please do” Kelley responds with a serious tone and a contradictory playful wink. Both roommates let out a laugh and feel the tiniest bit lighter after getting their confessions out of the way.
“What are the chances though?” Christen wonders aloud, “That we’re both gay and we end up randomly getting roomed together?”
“Remember that survey we had to take when we filled out the housing contracts online?” Kelley asks as she resumes unpacking her clothes.
“Yeah” Christen replies, waiting for Kelley to explain further. Where is she going with this?
“Remember that question that asked you how comfortable you’d be living with or around someone who identifies as LGBTQ+?” Christen nods in the affirmative. “There’s your answer” Kelley simply states. Huh. Christen thinks as she leans back against the cold brick wall. I never would have guessed my survey response would be taken so literally.
The next morning, Christen wakes up promptly around 5:00 am and makes her way to the bathroom, toiletries in hand. Once she rounds the corner of the ladies’ room entrance, she stops in her tracks upon seeing a figure in front of one of the sinks. She’s surprised to see anyone else besides herself up at this early hour. As her eyes begin to adjust to the harsh florescent bathroom light, Christen realizes that the figure is none other than Tobin – her gracious and undeniably gorgeous neighbor. Just as she’s about to turn on her heels and leave, Christen’s eyes connect with Tobin’s in the mirror. Tobin’s eyes are half open and still seem to be riddled with sleep, but they grow wider and warmer once they spot Christen in the doorway.
“Mornin’ ” Tobin greets with a toothbrush lazily hanging out of her mouth. Christen takes a deep breath knowing it’s too late to make a hasty retreat.
“Good morning” Christen returns politely as she approaches a sink, two sinks away from Tobin.
“What are you doing up so early?” Tobin asks between strokes of her toothbrush. Christen places her things on the counter before responding.
“I rise with the sun” Christen states with a shrug, “Always have.” Tobin nods her head in acknowledgement. “What about you?” Christen asks as she turns towards Tobin, “You kind of look like a zombie right now.” Tobin chuckles a bit before she spits out the remainder of her toothpaste in the sink.
“Soccer. We have early morning practices every now and again” Tobin explains. “So this” Tobin says while gesturing up and down her body with her hand, “Is mandatory, not by choice. Some of us aren’t as lucky as you morning people.” Tobin punctuates her statement with a smile that makes Christen feel things she didn’t know she could this early in the day. So Tobin plays soccer, huh? That does explain why she still looks so toned even in a loose fitting T-shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants. Wait, this means Tobin’s an athlete. That’s why I didn’t see her hauling her stuff around during Move-In Day, fall athletes move-in early! This is all starting to make sense now. “So what do you normally do when you get up this early?” Tobin asks, breaking Christen from her thoughts. “Classes don’t even start until eight.”
“Well usually I like to get some yoga in, and then maybe some light meditation to clear my mind. Somedays I’ll even go on walks and admire the area before all the hustle and bustle begins for the day. It just depends on my mood at that moment” Christen answers, thinking maybe she overshared just a bit. Tobin nods and bends down towards the sink to splash water on her face. Christen can’t help but think the action bears a resemblance to the infamous slow-motion face-splash shots in practically every Neutrogena face wash commercial. Then Tobin turns back to Christen.
“That sounds really cool, actually. Maybe I’ll try it out sometime.” Christen can’t keep herself from staring as she watches drops of water stream down Tobin’s face. It takes every fiber of her being to restrain herself from reaching out and wiping the water droplets away from Tobin’s prominent cheek bones and sharp jawline.
“Yeah, you totally should” Christen nonchalantly agrees, still partially fascinated by the way the water glistens on Tobin’s skin. Tobin reaches for her towel and dries off her face, effectively drawing Christen back to reality.
“Well if I ever have any questions, I know where to find you” Tobin says with a smirk that Christen can’t seem to get used to. “I’ll see you around, Christen” Tobin states before briefly patting Christen on the back and exiting the bathroom.
“See ya” Christen replies in as small of a voice as she’s ever heard come out of her mouth. As the sounds on Tobin’s flip-flops grow distant, Christen turns to her reflection in the mirror and thinks three things:
- You seriously need to get it together. Now.
- Did my hair look like this the entire time?!
- She remembered my name.